Clekcheaton’s run in the Yorkshire Cup came to an abrupt end with a comprehensive defeat by Wharfedale. The team travelled to Threshfield to face the National 1 outfit missing a number of regular forwards. Richard Piper, serving the last week of his ban following a sending off at West Hartlepool, Ben Thrower, out with a knee injury for the remaining games of the season and Rob Afoa Peterson and Grant Turton unavailable due to work commitments. The Wharfedale programme stated the game was against their reserve team, the Foresters, but on the day the line up for the Greens was a mixed squad of 1st team regulars and bench players heavily bolstering their usual Foresters side.

Cleckheaton competed well at times and never stopped working but the difference in pace, not just in terms of feet on the ground, but also in terms of speed of thought and re-organisation, was ultimately too much for the Moorenders to contain. Despite starting well and putting pressure on Wharfedale’s defence, it was the Greens who scored first when Tom and Will Davidson combined to break up the middle of the field for a try under the sticks. Cleckheaton responded with determination and from the back of a 5m line-out, Jack Bickerdike found Ryan Piercy running hard on an incisive line for the visitors’ first try. The conversion attempt hit the posts. The two sides continued to defend each others close quarter attacks well but Wharfedale look very dangerous in broken play and a grubber kick bounced kindly for their second try, which was quickly followed by a third. The conversion of one of them took the score to 19-5. Cleckheaton hit back on the half hour mark when a speculative cross-field kick from Mike Piper and a good chase from Martin Woodhead, led Wharfedale’s winger to fumble and Woodhead gratefully received the spoils, sprinting in at the corner. Wharfedale hit back with 2 very quick tries before Cleckheaton scored their 3rd on the stroke of half time, when Josh White controlled the ball well at the back of the line-out and dived over for his first 1st XV try. The conversion was missed once again and Cleckheaton turned round 33-15 down.

Any possibility of a heroic comeback was put to bed 10 minutes in, when Wharfedale scored the best try of the afternoon, with a dazzling break from their back line, which was finished by scrum half Jimmy Bullough. With Paul Turner in the sin bin for 10 minutes, Cleckheaton’s task was made harder and Wharfedale posted 2 further tries to give a final score of 54-15.

The exit from the Yorkshire Cup allows the Moorenders to focus on the major task at hand, which is winning the North 1 East title. After putting Old Crossleyans to the sword the week before, this game against a side 2 divisions above where Cleckheaton hope to be next year, will keep the team’s feet on the ground and help them with the mental focus they need to take up to Newcastle next weekend, when they face a traditionally tough fixture against Northern. Richard Piper makes his return to the team after more than a month and over the next two weekends could lead his side to the clubs’ first title shield in over 12 years.